I just heard the news and I'm shocked. It's unbelievable how saddened I am to hear of the passing of someone I've never met. I didn't even know she was sick, and I'm not alone. Even her former co-star, Tom Baker, claims he was taken completely by surprise.Crazy. Utterly crazy. 63? Really?
Yes, this is a forum for mostly RPG-type stuff, but I couldn't let my little corner of cyberspace go without some sort of tribute to the amazing actress who portrayed Sarah Jane Smith...
I know Doctor Who has the reputation for being a children's show. Or maybe it's derided for being "just genre stuff" or (in the 60s through 80s) cheaply-made. But when it was good, it was great. And I mean great television, period. Above-and-beyond any other consideration.
And there was no better era of Doctor Who than the one which featured Lis Sladen. Sarah Jane was my favorite companion and she traveled with my favorite doctor. She, Tom Baker, producer Phillip Hinchcliff, and script editor Robert Holmes put together the most amazing era of Doctor Who ever, and I still get great enjoyment watching the episodes those four (and others, of course) put together.I'm not alone, of course. The most recent testament to her popularity among Doctor Who fans is that she above all other classic companions was chosen to return for the new series. She was also picked to star in one aborted spin off and one successful one. She was chosen to return for the 1983 Five Doctor special. It seems every time Doctor Who looked to its past for a popular companion, Lis Sladen was the obvious choice.
And now she's gone. The world no longer has Sarah Jane in it. I still can't believe it.
PS: While reading the copious testaments to Lis Sladen, I learned that Nicholas Courtney, aka the Brigadier, also died a couple months back. It seems it's been a bad year for fans of the classic Doctor Who era, and we're not even half through it yet. R.I.P Nick Courtney.
Yes, Elisabeth's death was a shock ... and as you say, sometimes such deaths touch us in ways we would not expect.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post.
Lance.
Sorry, kind of off topic on your post...
ReplyDeletebut I just played your Maimed God Saga and it was just fantastic and eye opening.
Shocking that you were able to do a better job solo, than what EABioware was able to do with tens of millions for Dragon Age 2.
Difference with Maimed Saga vs that triple AAA title: they could hire voiced characters.
Can I suggest this? I think you could make a brilliant game out of Misery Stone--- which seems to me to make a great skeleton graphically of what you can do w/ narrative and game balance etc... (for example not giving or making possible a +5 bastard sword within the first 30 minutes of the game)
ReplyDeleteOne of the best things I think you did with the Maimed Saga is give such a scaled understanding of the PC...most games have trouble giving context to the power of the PC with the end result of making them superman. Takes alot of restraint to avoid that, and I think the end result ia far more enriching experience.
I think the ravenloft setting of Miserty stone lends itself to more magic items than say MGS, but I think its still possible to not let it get out of hand.
I watched this on the day, I miss Elizabeth sladen, what a wonderful lady . R.I.P Sarah Jane. We will remember you
ReplyDelete